By STEPHAN BISAHA

Cities in Kansas have been adopting a new approach for dealing with feral cats: neutering and vaccinating them, and then allowing the felines to roam free.

That has birdwatchers worried.

“Feral cats can be incredibly destructive to bird populations,” said Ron Klataske, executive director of Audubon of Kansas. “It does concern some of our local Audubon chapters throughout the state and elsewhere in the country.”

Wildlife conservationists accuse local governments that have adopted trap-neuter-return policies of valuing an invasive species over native birds and small mammals that the cats like to hunt.

Advocates say it’s more humane, and that neutering will reduce feral cat populations as the animals die of natural causes.

Wichita has been debating adding its own trap-neuter-return policy, or TNR, for months.

In communities, including Salina, North Newton, and Topeka, that have switched to neutering, the practice has drastically lowered the number of felines euthanized in city shelters. Lawrence is launching its program in May.

Friends of Felines, a group that’s been neutering and releasing feral cats in Wichita ad hoc for years, points to a reduction in euthanizations as proof the approach works.

Wichita euthanized more than 3,000 cats in 2013. Last year the number dropped to fewer than 1,000. Wichita police also credit freelance neutering for the reduction.

But with the animals having a lifespan of about 15 years, opponents of releasing the neutered felines back onto the streets say that’s still a lot of time for hunting.

“I see them sitting underneath my birdfeeder,” said Tom Ewert, president of the Wichita Audubon Society. “I haven’t agreed to having these feral cats running around outside.”

Ewert is wary of being labeled a cat hater — he has his own indoor cat. But he says outdoor cats devastate local wildlife.

A 2013 study estimated that domestic cats kill up to four billion birds a year in the United States, though that figure has been disputed. Cats have also been blamed for the extinction of dozens of species worldwide, including some mammals and reptiles.

While sharing the concerns for wildlife, PETA has also raised red flags about the brutal lives feral cats endure, struggling for adequate food and shelter. The animal rights group argues that care for the cats should include regular veterinary check-ups.

In Kansas cities, volunteers bring theferal cats to a veterinarian to be neutered and vaccinated, usually at the expense of the volunteer. The animals’ ears are clipped to identify that they’ve been neutered and to avoid unnecessary subsequent captures. Then they are let go.

The ordinance Wichita is considering would require the cats also be assigned to a caregiver. That volunteer would be allowed to care for up to eight cats, including their own domesticated felines. They would also have to provide some food and outdoor shelter for the animals.

Topeka’s program — adopted in 2010 — doesn’t designate caretakers but cat lovers usually step in to provide some assistance.

“Almost every colony that we come across or that are referred to us has a caregiver,” said Susan Schmitz, a founder of Topeka Community Cat Fix.

For friendly strays, adoption is one alternative that opponents of neuter-and-return suggest.

But a feral cats by definition aren’t socialized with people, making adoption impossible. For Ewert and other birders that leaves only euthanasia.

“That’s a terrible thing to say but we have a cat overpopulation right now and what are you going to do?” he said.

Stephan Bisaha reports on education for the Kansas News Service. Follow him on @SteveBisaha.

ST. LOUIS (AP) — A government-commissioned study has found that Missouri won’t have enough demand for medical marijuana to support the number of businesses the state is required to license next year.

Three University of Missouri researchers recently told state officials that Missouri will need fewer than half of the 60 commercial growers that must be licensed by January.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that the researchers predict up to 29 cultivators would grow enough medical marijuana for the estimated 26,000 qualified patients by 2022.

Missouri voters approved a constitutional amendment in November legalizing marijuana use for patients with cancer and other serious conditions, as well as for veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. Missouri is already planning at least 192 dispensaries, 86 manufacturing facilities and two testing facilities, in addition to the 60 cultivators.

JEFFERSON COUNTY — A Kansas school district superintendent arrested for an alleged DUI has been placed on leave.

On Saturday, The Kansas Highway Patrol arrested 55-year-old Dr. Martin Stessman, the superintendent at USD 450 Tecumseh after a 911 call reporting a reckless driver on Interstate 70, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.

On Sunday, the school district held a special board meeting that went into executive session to discuss personnel matters, according to a statement from USD 450.  Dr. Stessman was not relieved of his duties as superintendent; however, he was asked to take some personal time off.

On Thursday, the board met again and placed Stessman on administrative leave until June 1, 2019. He will forfeit twenty days of pay with those funds going toward an alcohol awareness program determined and approved by this board at a later date. During this time Matt Hirsch will act as interim Superintendent.

The board also placed Stessman on one year probation period in which he can be terminated by the board. He must complete a professional alcohol assessment, fully comply with assessment recommendations and speak to students and make this a teaching moment.

JEFFERSON COUNTY — A Kansas school district superintendent was arrested for alleged DUI over the weekend.

Just before 8:30 p.m. Saturday, The Kansas Highway Patrol arrested 55-year-old Dr. Martin Stessman, the superintendent at USD 450 Tecumseh after a 911 call reporting a reckless driver on Interstate 70, according to the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Department.

Just after 10:30p.m., Stessman was booked into jail, posted the $1000 bond and was released just before midnight.

USD 450 released no statement on the incident Sunday.

NEW YORK (AP) — The U.S. communications regulator will hold a massive auction to bolster 5G service, the next generation of mobile networks, and will spend $20 billion for rural internet.

5G will mean faster wireless speeds and has implications for technologies like self-driving cars and augmented reality. The rollout started last week in the U.S. and South Korea but will take years.

The Federal Communications Commission said Friday that it would hold the largest auction in U.S. history, of 3,400 megahertz, to boost wireless companies’ networks.

The FCC also says it will repurpose funds from existing programs to provide $20.4 billion connecting up to 4 million rural homes and small businesses to high-speed internet. There are 24 million Americans without access to broadband, and the problem is worst in rural areas.

COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Planned Parenthood is asking a federal appeals court to delay a ruling on a case involving whether abortions will resume at its Columbia clinic.

The Columbia Daily Tribune reports a motion filed by the organization asks the Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals to wait until the U.S. Supreme Court decides a Louisiana abortion-related case.

In Missouri, Planned Parenthood is challenging a February ruling denying an injunction to block the state from enforcing hospital privilege requirements for doctors at abortion clinics.

Earlier this year, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked a Louisiana law that also involves admitting privileges for abortion clinics from taking effect.

Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt says the Missouri case should proceed, alleging that Planned Parenthood wants to delay it in hopes of a more favorable outcome.

BARRY COUNTY —One person died in an accident just after 4p.m. Thursday in Barry County.

The Missouri State Highway Patrol reported a 1999 Honda motorcycle driven by Gregory S. Clein, 54, Monett, was southbound on MO. 97 two miles south of Yonkersville.

The motorcycle traveled off the road, hit a sign and an embankment. Clein was ejected and pronounced dead at the scene.

He was transported to the funeral home in Cassville. He was wearing a helmet, according to the MSHP.

SAN DIEGO (AP) — A Trump administration regulation set to go into effect Friday bars transgender people from the military unless they “correct those deficiencies,” a description the American Medical Association said Thursday is unfair and defies science.

The AMA told The Associated Press on Thursday the policy and its wording mischaracterizes transgender people as having a “deficiency.” It said it also objects to the Defense Department classifying the need to transition to another gender among “administratively disqualifying conditions” that include those the Pentagon has labeled as “congenital or developmental defects.”

The new regulation strips transgender troops of rights they only recently secured under the Obama administration to serve openly and receive care if they choose to transition to another gender.

The Defense Department said its use of the words “deficiencies” is military lingo for when an individual fails to meet standards to maintain a lethal force. It is not a reference to gender dysphoria, a condition of extreme distress from not identifying with one’s biological gender, Lt. Col. Carla Gleason said.

The department says transgender people can serve if they remain in their biological sex.

“The only thing deficient is any medical science behind this decision,” American Medical Association President Dr. Barbara L. McAneny said.

Decorated Army helicopter pilot Lindsey Muller was a plaintiff in one of four lawsuits that tried to block the policy from taking effect. But the final legal injunction was lifted in March, though new legal challenges are expected.

Muller said she and other transgender troops feel demoralized.

“Under our ethical standards, we can’t say anything derogatory against the administration, while we are being presented in a disparaging and derogatory light,” said Muller, 37, who is based in Fort Carson, Colorado.

Troops like Muller, who began openly identifying as a woman in 2016, are worried they will be discharged. The administration says it will not boot current service members who transitioned before the Pentagon issued its directive, though the government has also said it retains the right to eliminate that protection.

Muller said the policy will cost the armed forces far more in terms of losing experienced personnel like herself and training replacements than any costs associated with specialized health care for trans servicemembers. She plans to retire from the military next year after serving 20 years.

Under the new policy, a service member can be discharged based on a diagnosis of gender dysphoria if he or she is “unable or unwilling to adhere to all applicable standards, including the standards associated with his or her biological sex, or seeks transition to another gender.”

It said the discharge should come after an individual “has been formally counseled on his or her failure to adhere to such standards and has been given an opportunity to correct those deficiencies.”

The policy calls for troops diagnosed with gender dysphoria to be medically evaluated before discharging them to see if they qualify as having a disability. Otherwise gender dysphoria can be considered a “condition that interferes with military service” like sleep walking, bed wetting, motion sickness, and personality disorders.

“They can dress it up in whatever words they want, but when you carefully look at this it’s total disrespect for these human beings by saying a core piece of them is not acceptable,” former acting U.S. Army Surgeon General Gale Pollock said.

Pollock signed a statement with three former U.S. surgeons general and two former military surgeons general, saying they are “troubled by the Defense Department’s characterization of the need to undergo gender transition as a ‘deficiency,’ and by the addition of gender dysphoria to official lists of ‘congenital or developmental defects’ that include bed-wetting and ‘disturbances of perception, thinking, emotional control, or behavior.'”

An estimated 14,700 troops identify as transgender.

Military chiefs testified before Congress last year that they found no problems with transgender troops on morale or unit cohesion. Many have received medals since the armed forces welcomed them in 2016.

Transgender troops say the regulation mirrors the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy that prohibited gay men and women from serving openly in the armed forces before Congress repealed it in 2010.

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